[Exclusive] Seoul City Expands Proportion of 1-2 Person Households in Public Housing... Begins Developing Future Model

Increase in 1-2 Person Households Due to Low Birthrate and Aging
"Need to Shift Supply Plans Focused on 3-4 Person Families"
Considering Supply Measures Amid New Housing Site Depletion

Seoul, entering a super-aged society in 2025, is developing a 'Future Seoul-type Public Housing Model' in response to changes in population structure. With the intensification of low birth rates and an increase in the elderly population leading to a rise in 1-2 person households, there is a need to change the existing supply plan centered on 3-4 person families. Additionally, since new housing sites in Seoul are depleted, the city plans to devise new strategies to smoothly supply public housing in the future.

According to Seoul City on the 17th, the city recently announced a bid for the 'Public Housing Supply Strategy Establishment Service in Response to Population Structure Changes' on the Public Procurement Service's national comprehensive electronic procurement system, Nara Market. The bid deadline is the 27th, and the service period is 10 months from the contract date. A Seoul City public housing department official explained, "As low birth rates and aging intensify and 1-2 person households increase, causing changes in population and social structure, we aim to create a future Seoul-type public housing model in response."

Seoul is currently facing rapid population structure changes never experienced before. By 2025, the population aged 65 and over will exceed 20%, entering a super-aged society. Seoul's total fertility rate was 0.59 last year, the lowest in the world, and the most severe low birth rate even within Korea. Conversely, as average life expectancy rises, rapid aging has progressed.

Household structures have also changed rapidly. Due to factors such as remaining single and divorce, 1-2 person households have increased sharply. The number of single-person households in Seoul rose from 854,600 in 2010 to 1,489,900 in 2021, a 74% increase. During the same period, 2-person households increased from 781,500 to 1,056,300, a 35% rise. Additionally, cohabitation without marriage has emerged, indicating a need to change the public housing supply method centered on 3-4 person families.

Accordingly, through this service, Seoul is expected to explore options such as 'Gold Village' for the elderly, 'Mom and Dad Happy Town' for households raising children, 'Safe Dormitory' for youth preparing for independence, and rental housing to solve long-distance commuting issues. The city is also expected to consider creating specialized floor plans for the elderly, non-family cohabitation, and child-rearing households when building public housing. A Seoul city official said, "Specific review targets will be decided when the service begins."

Furthermore, since new housing sites in Seoul are depleted and there are limits to promoting construction-type public housing projects in the future, the city will seek ways to establish a new supply base. It plans to strategize how to supply public housing through various project promotion methods, including rapid integrated planning for reconstruction and redevelopment, youth safe housing, and long-term lease housing projects near subway stations. Redeveloping old rental housing complexes in Seoul is also one of the options under consideration. According to Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation, there are 34 public rental apartment complexes with 50,145 households built between 1989 and 2005, approaching the 30-year reconstruction period. A Seoul city official said, "Due to the shortage of new public housing sites to be developed, we plan to establish a stable supply base."